


Things Unexpected

by helloearthlings



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Police, Exes, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 14:17:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9075952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloearthlings/pseuds/helloearthlings
Summary: “You – you know each other?” Morgana breathed out the smallest laugh in the world. “You could say that, I suppose.”As if in a trance, Merlin turned away from Morgana, but when he met Arthur’s eyes, he seemed a little more ordinary, and strangely apologetic. “Morgana’s…my ex-wife.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic idea that's been in my head for years and I've just now gotten around to writing it. To be fair, my original idea ended with 'Arthur hides under his desk with a bottle of wine and wishes that the world would end', but to be fair, that's his emotional state of being. Anyway, it's short and sweet and awkward, my three favorite things. Hope you like!

“You nervous?”

Merlin bumped his shoulder against Arthur’s as they walked down the bustling city street. The noises of New York buzzed around Arthur with increasing speed and noise, but he wasn’t exactly paying too much attention to the world around him outside of Merlin and his own head.

“Pendragons don’t get nervous,” Arthur muttered, bumping Merlin’s shoulder just a little harder, which resulted in Merlin removing one hand from his coffee cup to actually shove Arthur lightly, but his smile was still bright and laughing and gently prodding in its nature, daring Arthur to keep talking.

Which he did, of course – Merlin always brought out that side of him, the emotional and vulnerable side that he tried to pretend didn’t exist. But it did, and Merlin was the only one privy to that intimate knowledge. “I mean, I guess so. I haven’t seen her in…God, seven years. That’s longer than I’ve known _you_ and it feels like I’ve known you for –”

Arthur made himself stop talking then, because Merlin might be able to poke and prod Arthur’s emotions about other people, but it would talk a hell of a lot more convincing to get Arthur to touch the entangled mess of feelings he had for Merlin himself.

“Forever,” Merlin finished for him with much too easy and comfortable of a smile. “But come on, Arthur. Your sister was the one who called you, so she definitely _wants_ to see you again. Just remember that when you start being argumentative and judgmental later.”

“Maybe I’m not going to be argumentative and judgmental at all,” Arthur said stubbornly, taking a sip of his coffee as Merlin snorted in apparent disbelief. “You don’t know. Maybe my sister and I have a lovely relationship.”

“Yes, that’s why you haven’t spoken to her in seven years,” Merlin rolled his eyes as they reached the door to their building. Merlin and his longer legs had beaten Arthur to the door, so he got to hold it open for Arthur, who kicked lightly at one of his feet on his way inside. “Because your relationship is just that great. I mean, I’m your best mate and I’ve only heard about her _maybe_ three times. In passing. You always shut down when I ask you about it.”

“There are good reasons for that,” Arthur muttered, taking a larger swig of his coffee, his heart rate increasing at the thought of Morgana being upstairs, waiting for him among his friends and colleagues, maybe sitting in the chair next to his desk, drumming her fingernails against the veneer like she always had when she was a teenager. “She’s the one who cut me out, anyway.”

“And now she’s called you again,” Merlin reminded him as they made their way across the lobby of the building. This time, Arthur sped up in order to beat Merlin to the elevator to press the button first. “Counts for something, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose,” Arthur sighed, body tightening in on itself in anticipation and…well, nerves. The elevator arrived, which gave him a moment to stop talking and collect his thoughts as he hit the button for the fourth floor. “She said some pretty nasty things to me before I left, you know – about being spineless, nothing more than by father’s puppet - I don’t know how I can face her again.”

“We almost got shot, like, last week,” Merlin reminded him with a wry grin and another shoulder bump. “By that crazy drug lord. If you can face him, and the rest of the criminals of this city, I’m sure your big sister will hardly register on your radar of shitty problems.”

Arthur opened his mouth to thank him for always knowing what to say, for knowing Arthur inside and out, for being the best partner on the force –  or at the very least, a manly grunt that would convey his gratitude. But then he felt Merlin’s hand squeeze his own and it chased the words from his throat.

They’d been doing that more often lately, the brief hand-holding, the lingering hugs; mainly when they were about to do something dangerous, but police officers tended to do dangerous things more often than civilians. It was hard to know what kind of territory they were veering into, but from the moment Merlin had been assigned to be his partner, there had been an undeniable and tangible _thing_ between them, one that mainly went unspoken.

Arthur’s mouth went dry as his brain told him to say something that would break that _unspoken_ rule, but then Merlin’s hand disappeared and the elevator opened in front of him, and he was reminded that there was already a challenge for today in the form of Morgana.

“You’ve got a girl waiting for you in the break room, Pendragon!” Gwaine called from his desk, despite it being halfway across the busy precinct floor. “She says she’s your sister, but she’s way too hot to be related to you!”

Arthur sighed heavily at the comment as Merlin chuckled from beside him. “Well, I’m out for the day. I’ll be leaving with her in like ten minutes. Try not to ogle her on the way out, Gwaine.”

“You gonna be alright?” Merlin asked him, meeting his eyes briefly, his own eyes genuine and concerned and very blue.

 _I’ll be fine,_ Arthur’s brain tried to respond, but instead his traitor mouth replied “Walk me over there?”

Merlin seemed pleased enough at the idea, so Arthur let himself be led over to the break room door with a bit more shoulder bumping and shoving in order to right himself and prepare for whatever this meeting with Morgana would bring, Still, Merlin was right; she was the one who called him, so she must want some sort of reconciliation.

He opened the door to find Morgana leaning against the counter next the coffee machine with the regal grace she had always held from the time she was small. Her hair was piled on her head in an intricate bun, and she was wearing a dark pencil skirt and blouse, so much different than the ripped jeans and leather jackets of her days in university, when Arthur had last known her. His heart stuttered in his chest when her dark green eyes met his own, vulnerable in nature and yet hopeful. Arthur knew he must look the same way.

“Morgana,” he breathed, trying to smile, and he felt Merlin pat him on the back and mutter “Good luck,” but then Morgana’s eyes widened as she cast a look over Arthur’s head.

“Merlin?”

“Oh, God,” he heard Merlin exhale behind him. He turned around in confusion to see that Merlin was staring at Morgana, mouth slightly ajar as if he was looking at a ghost. “ _Morgana_.”

“You – you know each other?” Arthur’s brain was having difficulty catching up with this new development, his scattered thoughts not being able to come to a conclusion.

Morgana breathed out the smallest laugh in the world. “You could say that, I suppose.”

As if in a trance, Merlin turned away from Morgana, but when he met Arthur’s eyes, he seemed a little more ordinary, and strangely apologetic. “Morgana’s…my ex-wife.”

Arthur’s stomach dropped out from under him, and he suddenly found himself longing for the confusion he had felt only moments ago.

“You’re kidding, right?” Arthur knew that the laugh he let out was panicky and faked, but he really couldn’t help it right now with the emotions running rampant through his head. “This is some stupid practical joke that you and Gwaine orchestrated, right?”

Arthur knew he was grasping for straws, knew that Merlin and even the ever-irritating Gwaine would never mess with his sister like this, knew that Merlin had to be telling the truth.

“Do you two – I mean, I guess you work together?” Morgana piped up, her eyes betraying confusion as well.

“He’s my partner,” Arthur answered automatically.

“Oh – you made detective, congratulations,” Morgana told Merlin and Arthur’s stomach spiraled even further out of control, the coffee he had just drank churning unpleasantly. “Though I see you never mentioned me.”

“I knew he had been married,” Arthur felt the need to point out so that he didn’t feel like Merlin had betrayed him entirely. “He just didn’t like to talk about it.”

“Can’t blame him for that,” Morgana’s eyes went from the pair of them to the floor. “I – God, I wasn’t expecting anything like this. I thought it would be hard enough just coming to see you again without this bombshell.”

“Forget about me,” Merlin dovetailed her sentence the moment she cut off. “Just forget I’m here, talk about your childhoods, why you came back. We can deal with – _this –_ later. Just talk, alright? Uh, it was good seeing you again, Morgana. Arthur?”

Arthur really didn’t feel like looking at Merlin’s all too genuine eyes right now or feel the warmth of Merlin’s hand against his shoulder, but they were there all the same. “We’ll talk later, yeah?

“Yeah,” Arthur answered woodenly. Merlin squeezed his shoulder lightly before he exited the room, the door swinging shut behind him.

He and Morgana were left in odd, uncomfortable silence.

“How’ve you been?” Arthur tried after a moment.

“Fine,” Morgana answered him, voice an octave or so higher than it had been previously, definitely due to the epic and extraordinary weirdness of this situation. “I’m a lawyer now.”

“Naturally,” Arthur had to let out a laugh at that, but it was a strained one.

“Well, you’re hardly a natural cop,” Morgana pointed out, voice turning a bit more ordinary and teasing, like it always had been throughout the childhoods. “I’m sure Father’s furious you didn’t go to law school, or business school, or take over the company like he always planned. I guess I was wrong, all those years ago, about you just being his…crony.”

“All those years ago, I was,” Arthur gave her without a fight. “I dropped out of business school because I hated it. But I like this.”

“It’s a good fit for you,” Morgana agreed. “New York’s a good fit for you, too. I moved to Chicago after I left, but it was never the same as New York.”

“Chicago,” Arthur echoed, gut twisting uncomfortably. “Right. That’s where Merlin’s from.” He paused, wincing. “Sorry. I can’t not talk about it.”

Morgana sighed, her eyes wide and empathic. “I can’t believe he’s here. With you. I mean, I haven’t talked to him in over five years, but it’s…”

“The weirdest coincidence in the smallest world,” Arthur finished for her, but Morgana shook her head.

“The world’s not that small. I’m sure there’s a cosmic reason for it.” Suddenly, Morgana’s face broke into a real smile. “I bet he’s a great partner.”

“The best,” Arthur agreed. “He’s…the best at everything. Best partner, best friend, best – anything I’ll ever have.”

Morgana’s eyes seemed to have new depths when she looked up at him, lips parted in surprise. “He’s easy to love, isn’t he?”

Arthur hesitated for the briefest of moments before answering with the overwhelmingly truthful “Very.”

They fell silent again before Morgana said, brisk and businesslike, “I’m not planning on leaving town anytime soon. And I’m not planning on never speaking to you again either. I came back to see you, and we will see each other, just. Not today. I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll schedule a time to meet for dinner. But you should go talk to Merlin. He’s probably pacing a hole in the floor right now.”

“Running statistics in his head,” Arthur agreed with a small smile, “plotting all possible scenarios and the solution for each of them.”

Morgana smiled as she took three strides across the room to put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder and kiss his cheek. “I missed you, little brother. I’ll see you soon.”

Arthur spent approximately thirty seconds alone in the break room before Merlin was at the door again; his eyes were wide and so, _so_ nervous.

“I saw Morgana leave,” Merlin said, voice bordering on shaky, but disguised well enough that only Arthur could have heard it. “Is everything okay?”

“We’re gonna have dinner later this week,” Arthur told him, “so I can have some time to, uh, process. _This_.”

“I’m sorry I never told you,” Merlin rubbed his fingers across his wrist, a bad habit that he adopted when he was nervous. “To be fair, I never knew you were related. But I’m still sorry about all of this.”

There had been misunderstandings between them in the past where Arthur had immediately started blaming Merlin for whatever had gone wrong and started yelling for no good reason. But this wasn’t one of those times, and he knew perfectly well that yelling would hardly be productive for him, no matter how good it might feel to let out some of his all too prominent emotions.

“Don’t be,” he said, forcing those emotions back into a hole in his head. He’d release them later at target practice. “Though it’s pretty fucking weird that we never figured it out.”

“Well, I mean, you never mentioned your sister’s name in any of the times you talked about her,” Merlin pointed out. “And I never knew much of anything about Morgana’s family other than that she didn’t know that her father was actually her father and not her uncle for the first fifteen years of her life, and that she changed her name when she moved away. Oh, and that she really hated him. She, uh, never mentioned a brother, though.”

“She wouldn’t have,” Arthur said softly, a small tremor of hurt going through his body at the idea that his sister’s _husband_ hadn’t even known he existed.

“She was always so closed-off,” Merlin said quietly after a moment. “It’s one of the many reasons that we were terrible for each other.”

That statement made Arthur’s spirits lift for some inexplicable reason. “You were terrible together?”

Well, maybe not all that inexplicable.

Merlin laughed lightly. “The worst. She was demanding and moody and never satisfied with anything. And I…I could never engage. Not fully. I’ve always sucked at that part of relationships. I can do the flowers and the chocolate and the support, but I’ve never been able to be all in, all the time. I check out, I disengage, I live in my own head too much. I’m good at being there when times are tough, but not in the day-to-day life of things. I don’t live enough in the moment; I’m always somewhere else.”

Arthur frowned. “I’ve never felt that with you. You’ve always been – with me, you’ve always been –” Arthur swallowed, searching for something intelligent to say, but only ended lamely with “–there.”

Merlin looked over at him, meeting his eyes for the first time since he came in, wide and genuine and very blue. “You’ve always been different, Arthur.”

Words failed Arthur yet again as he muttered, “well – you, too.”

“Arthur,” Merlin took a step toward him to bridge the already minimal gap between them. His hand brushed against Arthur’s shoulder. “You know that my history with Morgana has – has nothing to do with how I feel about you.”

Arthur cleared his throat forcefully. “How’s that, then?”

His intelligence and wit was really just _shining_ through today.

At least Merlin’s wit was in an equal stupor with his, his hands moving forward to take Arthur’s own with a gentle tug. “Well. You know.”

“Do I know?” Arthur asked, feeling like this was going to that place his brain tried to avoid but not wanting to misread the situation. Merlin was his partner, his friend, had always been affectionate and fond, this could just be –

Merlin pressed a kiss to the corner of Arthur’s lips and his brain’s worries slowed to a stop.

“Like that,” Merlin murmured, lips still only an inch away, his eyes closed as if waiting for impact.

“Well, uh,” Arthur floundered, not knowing how to properly articulate _this_ and deciding he might as well do what he always did a ruin nice moments. “I’d kiss you back, but I have this image of you having sex with my sister in my head and I don’t know if I can get past that.”

Merlin laughed and his breath brushed Arthur’s cheek. “I hope you’re joking. I haven’t spent the past four years slowly falling in love with you just to have it all ruined by one badly timed visit from my ex-wife.”

Arthur didn’t hear any of the words past ‘falling in love with you’. “Do you really love me?”

“Stupid question,” Merlin responded, his hands growing tighter against Arthur’s own. “Now please tell me that this Morgana thing isn’t going to be an issue.”

Arthur hesitated. “Well, if it’s an issue, it’s the kind that can be fixed with copious amounts of vodka.”

“Good,” Merlin smiled, and his eyes were bright and without nerves or fear again, the way that they belonged. “Now can I kiss you for real?”

“Only if you do it well enough to make me forget that you slept with my sister,” Arthur challenged, and Merlin wrapped an arm around Arthur’s neck, fingers lightly pulling at his hair in a way that made Arthur’s knees buckle just slightly.

“I’ll try.”


End file.
